Mildura on track for hottest average January on record

Businesses are closing early. The mobile library service has stopped operating. Ice cream sales are booming. And one cafe manager has cooked a steak in her car to demonstrate how hot it really is.

The Murray River city of Mildura is on track to record its hottest-ever January average as the region stares down another four days above 40 degrees.

But there's no disaster response happening here. In Mildura, the heat is part of life.

Mildura may mark its hottest average January on record.

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Danielle Hobbs, manager of not-for-profit traders' organisation Mildura City Heart, said she was aware of several cafes and boutiques closing early because of the weather. Many tradies had also adjusted their hours to start and finish earlier.

But she said most locals were prepared for the annual spike in heat and simply cranked up the air conditioning or headed for the water.

Danielle HobbsCredit:Carmel Zaccone

Foot traffic disappears outside Mildura City Heart's mall office by mid-afternoon. Anyone seen after 2pm is presumed to be a tourist.

"We've been living here our whole lives, it's just what we do," Ms Hobbs said. "Once it gets over 38 ... there's no point complaining because no one listens to you."

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Dockside Cafe manager Lacey Hateley conducted her own heat experiment after getting caught out by hot leather car seats and bare legs as the temperature approached 46 last Tuesday.

"I thought, geez it's so hot I could probably cook a steak in my car. So I did," she said.

The resulting Facebook post reminding people to never leave children, the elderly or pets in cars has since gathered more than 800 comments.

Ms Hateley is a Canadian by birth, but has lived in Mildura with her husband and children for more than 10 years.

She describes the heat as "excruciating" but regularly calls relatives in Canada - where it's currently minus 41 - to "rub it in".

Kathryn and Robbie Neville from cafe Bobby + Me normally open from 7am to 9pm, every day of the year. When it reaches 40 degrees, they close at 1pm.

"The conditions are extreme. We have to take into consideration staff safety," they said.

On top of everything else, people were warned not to swim in the Murray River after an outbreak of blue-green algae last week, which meant fewer customers for the riverfront business.

Out of town at Mildura Native Nursery, Tony Langdon says staff rely on "Swampy" the rooftop evaporative cooler to cope, but the number of customers is drastically reduced.